Single pivot mirror with security light

Abstract

The present invention relates to an exterior vehicle mirror assembly. The mirror comprises a housing with an electrically powered adjusting mechanism mounted therein, and a support structure to be fixed to the vehicle exterior. The housing is pivotally mounted to the support structure and both the housing and support structure provide structure cooperating to define an indexing pivot assembly. The support structure has a wire receiving passage formed therein and the housing has a wire passage access opening. The access opening provides access to the passage to facilitate passing electroconductive wire though the passage so as to allow the adjusting mechanism to be connected to an electric power source and a control signal source within the vehicle. A lighting assembly is constructed and arranged to be mounted to the support structure so as to close the wire access opening after an installer has passed the wiring through the wire receiving passage. The lighting assembly has light emitting elements operable to emit light therefrom and to be operatively connected to the remote signal receiver of the vehicle such that operation of a remote transmitter will signal the receiver to cause the light emitting elements to emit light generally downwardly from the support structure towards the ground.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A mirror assembly for installation on the exterior of a motor vehicle proximate a driver or passenger door thereof, the motor vehicle having a remote signal receiver to be used in conjunction with a remote transmitter carried by a vehicle operator, said assembly comprising: 
       a mirror housing;  
       an electrically powered mirror adjusting mechanism mounted within an interior of said housing;  
       a support structure having a wire receiving passage, said support structure being constructed and arranged to be fixedly mounted to the motor vehicle exterior proximate either of the driver or passenger;  
       said mirror housing being mounted to said support structure with one end of said wire receiving passage communicating with the interior of said mirror housing;  
       electroconductive wiring passed through said wire receiving passage and operatively connected to said adjusting mechanism in the interior of said mirror housing for operative connection to an electric power supply source of the vehicle;  
       said support structure having a wire passage access opening providing access to said wire receiving passage for handling of said wiring when said access opening is open;  
       a reflective mirror positioned to face generally rearwardly with respect to the vehicle so as to reflect objects located rearwardly of the vehicle into the passenger compartment of the vehicle when said support structure is fixedly mounted to the vehicle exterior, said adjusting mechanism being constructed and arranged to selectively position said mirror relative to said housing; and  
       a lighting assembly constructed and arranged to be mounted to said support structure so as to close said wire access opening said lighting assembly having one or more light emitting elements operable to emit light therefrom and to be operatively connected to the remote signal receiver of the vehicle when said support structure is fixedly mounted to the vehicle exterior such that operation of the remote transmitter will signal the remote receiver to cause said one or more light emitting elements to emit light from said support structure so as to provide a lighted zone.  
     
     
       2. A mirror assembly according to claim  1 , wherein said housing is pivotally mounted on said support structure for pivotal movement about a generally vertically extending pivot axis. 
     
     
       3. A mirror assembly according to claim  2 , wherein said housing and said mirror assembly cooperate to provide an indexing pivot assembly, said indexing pivot assembly providing cooperating structures engaged with one another to yieldably maintain said housing in a fixed angular position with respect to said pivot axis in the absence of an impact force of a sufficient magnitude being applied to said housing, said cooperating structures being constructed and arranged to yieldingly move and disengage from one another as a result of the impact force of sufficient magnitude being applied to said housing so as to allow said housing to pivot in the direction of the applied impact force. 
     
     
       4. A mirror assembly according to claim  3 , wherein said cooperating structures of said indexing pivot assembly comprise a plurality of raised projections and a plurality of recessed surfaces, and wherein said indexing pivot assembly further comprises a biasing element engaging surface provided on said support structure and a biasing element engaging surface provided on said housing; 
       said indexing pivot assembly further comprising a yieldingly deformable biasing element positioned between said engaging surfaces, said biasing element being constructed and arranged to apply a biasing force to said engaging surfaces to yieldingly maintain said raised projections engaged with said recessed surfaces, said biasing element being constructed and arranged to yieldingly deform so as to allow said raised projections to disengage from said recessed surfaces when the aforesaid sufficient impact force is applied to said housing;  
       said access opening being positioned and configured to facilitate positioning of said biasing element between the engaging surface of said support structure and the engaging surface of said housing.  
     
     
       5. A mirror assembly according to claim  4 , wherein said indexing pivot assembly further comprises a cylindrical portion provided on said support structure and a cylindrical portion provided on said housing, said cylindrical portions being arranged concentrically one within the other with an inner one of said cylindrical portions providing a central opening extending along said pivot axis, said central opening establishing communication between the interior of said mirror housing and said wire receiving passage to allow said wiring to pass from said passage to the interior of said housing; 
       each of said cylindrical portions having a flange extending radially therefrom, said flanges providing said engaging surfaces of said housing and said support structure.  
     
     
       6. A mirror assembly according to claim  5 , wherein said access opening is aligned with said central opening. 
     
     
       7. A mirror assembly according to claim  6 , wherein said biasing element is a coil spring. 
     
     
       8. A mirror assembly according to claim  3 , wherein said cooperating structures of said indexing pivot assembly comprise a plurality of raised projections provided on said support structure and a plurality of recessed surfaces provided on said housing. 
     
     
       9. A mirror assembly according to claim  8 , wherein said indexing pivot assembly comprises an inner cylindrical portion provided on said support structure and an inner cylindrical portion provided on said housing; 
       said inner cylindrical portion of said support structure having a flange portion extending generally radially outwardly therefrom, said raised projections being provided on said flange portion;  
       said inner cylindrical portion of said housing being received within said inner cylindrical portion of said base structure and having a flange portion extending generally radially outwardly therefrom;  
       said indexing pivot assembly further comprising a yieldingly deformable spring engaged with both said generally radially extending flange portion and constructed and arranged to apply a biasing force to yieldingly maintain said raised projections engaged with said recessed surfaces, said spring being constructed and arranged to yieldingly deform so as to allow said raised projections to be disengaged from said recessed surfaces when the sufficient impact force is applied to the housing.  
     
     
       10. A mirror assembly according to claim  3 , wherein said inner cylindrical portion of said housing has a central opening formed therethrough, said central opening being open to said wire receiving passage such that said central opening communicates said wire receiving passage with the housing interior and the wiring passes through said central opening, said wire access opening of said support structure being vertically aligned with said central opening to (a) facilitate passing said wire through both said wire receiving passage and said central opening and (b) facilitate engagement of said spring with said flange portions. 
     
     
       11. A mirror assembly according to claim  10 , wherein said inner cylindrical portion of said housing has another flange portion extending generally radially outwardly therefrom, said recessed surfaces being provided on said another flange portion. 
     
     
       12. A mirror assembly according to claim  11 , wherein said housing has an outer cylindrical portion formed integrally with said another flange portion thereof and spaced radially outwardly from said inner cylindrical portion thereof; 
       said support structure having an outer cylindrical portion formed integrally with said flange portion thereof and spaced radially outwardly from said inner cylindrical portion thereof;  
       said spring being received between the inner and outer cylindrical portions of said support structure;  
       said inner and outer cylindrical portions and said flange portion of said support structure being received between the inner and outer cylindrical portions of said housing.  
     
     
       13. A mirror assembly according to claim  12 , wherein said flange portion of said inner cylindrical portion said housing is an expandable washer. 
     
     
       14. A assembly according to claim  1 , wherein said light assembly comprises a circuit board and a lens, said one or more light emitting elements being mounted to said circuit board. 
     
     
       15. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  14 , further comprising additional electroconductive wiring adapted to be connected between said lighting assembly and the electrical power source of the vehicle, said additional wiring extending through said wire receiving passage between said lighting assembly and the electrical power source when said support structure is fixedly mounted to the vehicle exterior. 
     
     
       16. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  14 , wherein said light emitting elements are incandescent bulbs. 
     
     
       17. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  14 , wherein said light emitting elements are light emitting diodes. 
     
     
       18. A single pivot mirror assembly for installation on the exterior of a motor vehicle proximate a driver or passenger door thereof, the motor vehicle having a remote signal receiver to be used in conjunction with a remote transmitter carried by a vehicle operator, said assembly comprising: 
       a support structure constructed and arranged to be fixedly mounted to the motor vehicle exterior proximate either of the driver or passenger door;  
       a mirror housing;  
       said mirror housing and said support structure having pivotal mounting structures coupled together to pivotally mount said housing to said support structure for pivotal movement about a generally vertically extending pivot axis;  
       a reflective mirror positioned to face generally rearwardly with respect to the vehicle so as to reflect objects located rearwardly of the vehicle into the passenger compartment of the vehicle when said support structure is fixedly mounted to the vehicle exterior;  
       said support structure having an access opening when said support structure is mounted to the vehicle exterior, said access opening when open providing access to the coupled pivotal mounting structures of said housing and said support structure;  
       a lighting assembly constructed and arranged to be mounted to said support structure so as to close said access opening, said lighting assembly having one or more light emitting elements operable to emit light therefrom and to be operatively connected to the remote signal receiver of the vehicle when said support structure is fixedly mounted to the vehicle exterior such that operation of the remote transmitter will signal the remote receiver to cause said one or more light emitting elements to emit light from said support structure so as to provide a lighted zone.  
     
     
       19. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  18 , wherein said pivotal mounting structures of said housing and said support structure are engaged with one another to (a) yieldably maintain said housing in a fixed angular position with respect to said pivot axis in the absence of an impact force of a sufficient magnitude being applied to said housing and (b) to allow said housing to pivot about said pivot axis relative to said housing as a result of said impact force of sufficient magnitude being applied to said housing. 
     
     
       20. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  19 , further comprising a biasing element biasing said pivotal mounting structures into engagement with one another to yieldably maintain said housing in the fixed angular position as aforesaid. 
     
     
       21. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  20 , wherein said pivotal mounting structures said housing and said support structure include plurality of raised projections and a plurality of recessed surfaces, said biasing element urging said raised projections into engagement with said recessed surfaces and being yieldingly deformable so as to allow said raised projections to disengage from said recessed surfaces when the aforesaid sufficient impact force is applied to said housing. 
     
     
       22. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  18 , wherein said biasing element is a coil spring. 
     
     
       23. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  18 , further comprising an electrically powered mirror adjusting mechanism mounted within an interior of said housing, said adjusting mechanism being constructed and arranged to selectively position said mirror relative to said housing; 
       said support structure having a wire receiving passage with one end of said wire receiving passage communicating with the interior of said housing, said wire receiving passage having another end that communicates with the vehicle when said support structure is fixedly mounted to the exterior thereof;  
       electroconductive wiring passed through said wire receiving passage and operatively connected to said adjusting mechanism in the interior of said mirror housing for operative connection to an electric power supply source of the vehicle;  
       said access opening providing access to said wire receiving passage for handling of said wiring when said access opening is open.  
     
     
       24. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  21 , wherein said pivotal mounting structure of said support structure comprises a cylindrical portion provided on said support structure and wherein said pivotal mounting structure of said housing comprises a cylindrical portion provided on said housing; 
       each of said cylindrical portions having a flange extending radially therefrom, said flanges providing said engaging surfaces of said housing and said support structure.  
     
     
       25. A single pivot mirror assembly according to claim  24 , wherein said access opening is aligned with said central opening.